Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-09-15

gate to be placed at the beginning of the
journey. Strait, l. e., narrow; opposed to
what is wide, as straight, which is another
form of stretched, is opposed to that which
is crooked Strait is used but little exceps
in geography, as "the straits or narrows Of
Gibraltar" and in such phrases as strait
laced, strait jacket, and "he is in a strait"
i. e., in narrow or tight place. Destruction,
loss, perdition. This will apply with equal
propriety to temporal loss or eternal ruin.
Jesus here presents the characters
tics of the two ways The exhor-
tation teaches that it is difficult
to begin and to continue to serve God,
and that it is easy to live life of sin. The
difficulty of being saved and the ease Of be-
ing lost are used to stimulate all to make the
necessary efforts to enter the narrow gates.
The fourteenth verse impreSses upon US the
same truth. Not only is the gate narrow, ,butthe
way is so also Narrow.-This means pressed
together, contracted, straitened Revised Yer
sion) 1t suggests the idea of difficulty; the
verb is the root of the word translated tribu-
lation. The strait gates, travellers in the east
tell us, are found in retired corners They
are not observed by the careless passer by.
They have to be carefully sought; they are
opened to those who knock; and, as DIR.
Thomson says, "When the sun goes down
and night comes on they are shut and locked
1t is then too laten Sometimes the larger
gate has small one in itself Perhaps Christ
had these two in mind-the one large and
easily found, the other small and discovered
only by the earnest seeker.
V. 15 Because of these difficulties in enter
ing the strait gate and walking in the mar
row way, we see the need Of guarding against
false prophets. There are those who will
strive to lead us away; such were the Phari-
sees; such were some who claimed to have
been taught by Christ. The word prophet is
not only one who foretells, but also one who
"foretells" and "forth-tells, ;" one who speaks of
and for God, an inspired teacher of religious
truth. A false teacher is one who falsely
claims 70 teach in Gods name Sleeps
clothing.-This is lot to be understood liter
ally, as in the case Of the old prophets; the
rough costume, however, came to stand for
the garments Of true prophets. All rascals
assume the manner of saints. This is a
compliment to the saints. If there were no
good men, there would be no motive to as
sumo the character of goodness. Inwardly.
AT heart they are selfish, greedy, wicked,
devilish. This is a striking representation Of
a wicked person assuming the appearance Of
goodness.
VS.. 1920. Ye shall know them by their
fruits-Their actions will son reveal their
character. No man can long play the hypo-
critic; let him alone and he will soon reveal his
true character. Grapes.-The question here
asked is equal to q strong negative assertion.
We know that grapes and figs were among
the choicest fruits of Palestine Thorns and
thistles were as worthless as they were COM
mon; thorns were of various kinds; thistles
represent a particular variety of prickly
plant OF course grapes and figs do not grow
in this fashion; to ask the question Is to
answer it. Good tree-A tree which bears
much and good fruit Corrupt-This literally
nloans rotten; here it means tree which bears
LAD fruit, as opposed to the good fruit. In
verse 10 we see what is the destiny of such q
t1ee-hewn down. E., cut out Of its place in
the orchard. That is all it is good for Trees
like men, get in the end all they are worth.
There is no escaping this terrible law. The
character must be changed or this destiny is
Inevitable. These false guides shall be cast
into unquenchable fire. In verse 20 Jesus ap-
plies the comparison to the false prophets of
whom he had spoken. This practical test
enables US to distinguish between true and
false teachers. By this test we are to Judge
men today; by it we ourselves are to be
judged.
VS.. 21-23-Here we take wide reach; not
only false teachers but all false professors Of
religion are here included. He here warns
not open enemies, but even his professed dis
ciples. Not every one.-Not all who profess
Christ's name shall be among the saved.
Lord. This term. recognizes Christ as sover-
eign. Perhaps thus early this title was given
him by his followers. Its repetition gives
emphasis to the significance of the title; and
also, perhaps, indicates the common practice
of the disciples. The practical test of love
Is obedience. Doeth the will-From verse 81
it is certain that the number Of false pro-
fessors will be great. That day is clearly the
last day of Judgment. The term might be
applied either to the introduction or the con-
summation of the kingdom. Prophesied,
preached, forth telling rather than foretell-
ing. But even the ability to foretell future
events does not necessarily prove that Its pos
SCISSORS were godly. Devils, strictly demons
There is but one devil-he is the head Of
many demons who are his angels. Workers
Of miracles are not necessarily truly pious
Possibly demons were subject to Judas as
well as to the other disciples There are
evangelsts and pastors in our own day who
have been used by God in the conversion Of
souls who are at heart bad men
In verse % we see that Christ will publicly
repudiate these impostors. He becomes de-
cided in bis rejection, and says depart from
me, ye that work iniquity. They never were
his true followers, and they must now go to
their own place.
VS.. M-27 False teachers are rejected;
but those also who stand in a merely mega
tive attitude toward evil. those who are hear
ers and not doers Of the word, are also
brought to destruction. knowledge OF the
truth, without an observance Of its claims
aggravates the doom Of men. A rock, liter
ally, the rock; not fragment of rock broken
off, but bed of rock, of living rock. In its
full sense this rock is Christ Rain, storm.
Floods, streams, freshets; common word in
Greek for rivers; here inundations Christ's
hearers readily understood this vivid imag-
cry; they were familiar with the sudden fury
of the storms in that Oriental land. Rain
often descends in torrents, between winter
and harvest; it pours down the mountain
side in angry streams; rivulets become
rivers, whose swollen waters sweep off houses
and often cattle. Only house which had
been founded on a rock could stand. This
one stood. Now the house Of the foolish man
totters and falls. Its foundation was sand.
He who hears and refuses to obey Christ's
savings is this foolish man; he lacks good
sense, foresight, prudence Sand, which had
accumulated in the bed of mountain tor
rent This is the material on which he built;
1t represents human doctrines, goodness, self
Righteousness, anything but Christ
VS.. 2S, 90 The discourse made profound
impression. No wonder. 1t has astonished
the world ever since. Never such matter,
never such manner. The controlling element
was authority. He did not reflect the opin-
ions of others; he did not quote from other
learned rabbins As an author, he was the
best expoupder of the law. The law giver wai
the true interpreter. He spoke as judge on
his seat, as a king on his throne His ii say
unto you" was as the voice of the eternal
Even the prophets usually said, "Thus saith
the Lord" 1t went into the deepest senses Of
his auditors. The contrast with the scribes
was most marked. He went into the pro
foundest depths Of the spiritual requirements
of the law; the scribes dealt in trihing ira
ditions.
Yolo county, California, has 81, 600 acres In
vines, 5000 of which are vines of the Saisin
grape.